The issue of sexual violence against women in contemporary India.

Abstract: India is often described to be a country with a fast growing economy and progressive indicators of human development. However, over the last decade there has been a growing concern of increased reporting of sexual violence in India which seems to contradict the first description. Therefore this creates a problem on how we can understand and explain this. The objective of this study is to try to gain a deeper understanding of some of the underlying factors of increased reporting of sexual violence in India, and to understand in what way the ‘modernization’ process possibly could be put in relation to this, something that is analyzed with help from Durkheim’s theory of anomie. This study draws on a qualitative desk study with a compilation of material from existing research on sexual violence against women, both at home and in public spaces. The findings were analyzed in relation to Durkheim’s theory of anomie and gender theories from two authors. The results show that some of the underlying factors for increased reports of sexual violence against women in India, like patriarchy, education and employment for women and gendered power inequalities are in a complex interplay. It was further seen as ‘traditional’ norms and values clashed with ‘modernity’ and caused these factors for violence. The outcome of the study showed that the increased reporting of sexual violence can be related to the ’modernization’ process both in a positive and negative way. Through Durkheim’s theory of anomie it was possible to see that ‘modernization’ could have caused a state of anomie, which has lead to deviant behavior and resulted in increased reporting of sexual violence against women.